Why Aren’t You Taking Advantage of Free Marketing?
OK. Full disclosure first: My company, Metro-SEO is paid to help businesses gain higher Search Engine rankings, create Facebook content, and generally get more online exposure.
But, this information is free: make sure your business is taking advantage of free local online directories.
Free? Yes! No cost to you.
Local? Yes. People are looking at these directories to find products and services in their area. Why should your competition get these valuable potential customers?
Online? Yes, but don’t worry if you don’t have a website. You can still list your company’s information on these sites — phone number, address, hours of operation, etc.
One resource you should list with is Yelp.com. Yelp is essentially online “word-of-mouth”, where people write reviews of their own experiences with local businesses, and other people can see those recommendations. Many consumers now search for information online before they even ask their friends for advice. Check out http://www.yelp.com/rancho-cordova-ca — has anyone reviewed your business yet? If not, it’s a missed opportunity.
Business owners should visit http://biz.yelp.com, get a business user account and sign up to create or “‘claim” their business page. You will then be able to add more details about your business: coupons, photographs, history, etc. You will be notified when someone writes a review of your business, and can even track how many people visit your page.
If you aren’t taking advantage of local online directories, you are missing out on valuable marketing and advertising opportunities. And, did I mention? It’s Free!
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Short URL: http://www.ranchocordovapost.com/?p=3965
Posted by Web Submission
on Jun 23 2009. Filed under Viewpoints.
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Of course if you put your business up on a site like Yelp, then it is easy for people to bash you online in the “review” section if they have some sort of a mission. That’s not very good publicity now, is it? Where is the line for the modern day business owner when it comes to being accessible online, yet protecting yourself too from negative attacks?
There is no line or protection when putting yourself out there online; except to run your business as well as possible and leave each customer or client happy with your products or services. But, even then, sometimes you do come across someone who is out to get you and takes their wrath out in the form of online reviews. When that happens, RL you’re right, “that’s not very good publicity” but, if you choose to advertise online, you must have a level of commitment to checking on these places and doing some ‘damage control’. Things like following up with those reviewers or making a public attempt to make whatever it is they complained about right; which can be done by writing something back in the review area to show those reading that you care about your customers. Also, if you’re going to advertise online you must nudge the customer standing in front of you to also go online. Maybe doing that will only increase site traffic but it might also turn into a good review by a satisfied customer. One bad review among ten good reviews is going to go a long way to letting the reader know that that one review in no way reflects the way you run your business. Online advertising is changing the way we market ourselves, and knowing small tips like these can go a long way in optimizing your time and money spent on online advertising.
Steven Ventress
RL, I’m afraid I have to side with Steven. Yelp says that positive reviews outnumber the negative ones by 6:1. If you take care of your customers; if you respond quickly, calmly, and effectively when problems arise; and if you take the time to monitor your online reputation; you will build great word of mouth online with Yelp and the many other websites that collect and display reviews.
Think of the alternative. Before the Web, if someone complained about your business, you’d probably never learn about it, and the rule for traditional word of mouth was that a complaint would be passed to ten people when a recommendation was passed to five. Now with Web Word of Mouth, the complaint and the recommendation have an equal audience.
Steven is also correct about the effect of a few negative reviews. If you use the Web to document a sincere attempt to make the situation right with an occasional, inevitable unhappy customer, you will get points with the people reading the reviews. A few negative reviews scattered in many more positive ones will also lend credibility to all the reviews, making the positive ones even more compelling and persuasive to your potential customers.
I hear you guys and I understand where you are coming from. I work in an industry where my clients can be very easily unhappy due to the nature of business, so we’ll see how this all pans out. I did establish a Yelp account and I’ll see where that goes. Thanks for your insight.
RL, there are certainly those kinds of businesses where clients are often unhappy and might leave a bad review online. My wife is a family law attorney and no matter how hard she works for her clients, they are sometimes unhappy with the result — a divorce and its aftermath are unhappy times for most people. Lawyers and some other professionals are also restricted from releasing client confidential information, which makes it impossible for them to cite the client’s actions in defending themselves from a bad Web review of the attorney’s services.
However there are some things even a family law attorney can do, and perhaps the list will be helpful to you. First, ask your happy clients to post reviews for you. A little nudge from you might be enough to get them online soon after you’ve finished providing your services — the best time to get a positive review. Second, make it easy for your clients by giving them written directions describing how to get to your listing and post a review. Third, thank the clients who make the effort — a handwritten note is most appreciated.
Finally, if you get a bad review, apologize for the client’s unhappiness and make a good faith offer to work with the client to resolve the problem. Don’t argue about facts online! Document your apology and offer in your online response to the bad review. You’ll be surprised — most people will respond to your evident concern and your willingness to work for a solution, and some of them will become your biggest advocates. Good luck!